Around the world, every year on January 1st at 12:00 A.M., people celebrate the start of the new year. Many celebrations include fireworks and parties as people discuss their plans and goals for the year ahead.
The start of the new year wasn’t always in January; in fact, it was in March. However, this changed during the rule of Roman king Numa Pompilius. According to Britannica, the month January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is the god of all beginnings. This makes January a more fitting month to start the new year. March, on the other hand, was named after and celebrated the god Mars, who is the god of war.
People have been creating calendars for thousands of years as a way to track time. Over time, the calendar that is primarily used today has changed greatly. Erin Blakemore, an author for National Geographic, highlights several different examples of calendars that have changed over the years, eventually leading to the Gregorian calendar that is most widely used today.
The calendar most similar to the one used today is the Julian calendar which was introduced during the rule of Julius Caesar. The Julian calendar consisted of a 365 day year with a leap day once every 4 years. The calendar was used for many centuries. While the Julian calendar was not perfect, unlike other calendars it was more closely aligned with the sun. (National Geographic).
Originally, many calendars, for example, Rome’s lunar calendar proposed a 10-month year. However, this system created many issues due to the calendar’s inability to line up with the changing seasons. Unlike modern calendars, the lunar calendar relied on the moon rather than the sun to measure time. (National Geographic).
Eventually, calendars transitioned from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This shift happened because the Julian calendar calculated the year to be 365.25 days. According to Cody Cottier, an author for astrology.com, later studies revealed that the actual solar year is approximately 365.2422 days long.
While this difference may seem small and insignificant, when applied over hundreds of years, it gradually disrupted the calendar system. Over the course of 1,600 years, the Julian calendar drifted ahead by roughly 11 minutes each year. (Cottier)
Later to correct this issue, Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the calendar to be more accurate by changing it to better match the amount of time it takes for the Earth to orbit the sun. This reform altered the calendar year from 365.25 days long to 365.2425 days long, creating the Gregorian calendar that is still in use by most of the world today. (National Geographic).
While January 1st holds little astronomical significance, it has been kept as tradition. The date connects back deeply to historical and religious practice, both of which remain embedded in society.
